The global positioning system (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system built and operated by the United States Department of Defense. Civilian codes (C/A codes) in the L1 frequency band are freely accessible to anyone with a GPS receiver. GPS generally provides location and time information in all weather conditions, anywhere on or near the Earth where there is an unobstructed communication path to four or more GPS satellites. To provide the location and time information, the GPS system includes twenty-four or more satellites circling the Earth. The satellites are placed in six different orbits, such that at any time, a minimum of six and a maximum of more than eleven satellites are visible to nearly any GPS receiver on the surface of the Earth. A GPS receiver determines its position by computing relative times of arrival of signals transmitted simultaneously from the plurality of GPS satellites visible to the receiver. The satellites transmit, as part of their message, both satellite positioning data as well as data on satellite clock time (i.e., ephemeris data). The process of searching for and acquiring GPS signals, reading the ephemeris data for the plurality of GPS satellites, and computing the location of the receiver can be time consuming, often requiring thirty seconds or more in a cold start condition.